Pneumatic jack.



C. H. LBTHBR.

PNEUMATIC JACK.- APBLIGATION FILED JUNE 2s, 1911.

Ptented De. 5, 1911":

UNITED. sTATEs PATENT A oEFio'E.

CLARENCE n. LErcHEn, or san JosE, CALIFORNIA.

PNEUMATIC JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed .Tune 26, 1,911..Serial No. 635,310.

ratentedne. e, ieri.

To aZZ when?. tti-may concern:

y -Be it known'that I, CLARENCE H. LETGHER,

citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, in the county ofSanta Clara andState of California, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Pneumatic Jacks, of, which the following is aspecitication..

This invention relates toa pneumatic jack and particularly pertains toya jack which is .adapted to `be'employed for histing vehicle bodies andthe like.-

. Itis the object of this invention toprovide a simple,-powerful,practical compact pneumatic lifting jack which is adapted to be readilyplaced under Vthe axles of low veiikcles, such as automobiles, trucks,'and the Another object is to provide a jack of the above character havingmeans by which the .'ja'clr may be placed a distance beneath the vehicleand attached to a suitable source of air supply with very littleinconvenience.

The 'invention consists of, the parts Aand the combination andconstruction of parts as hereinafter 'more fullyA described andclaimed'having reference to the accompany ylng drawmgs', in wh1ch-Figure 1 is a verticalsection of the invention. Fig. 2 is lan enlargedvsection on the line X-X, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlargedsection on the.line'Y--Y, Fig.` 2. Fig. 4

Ais an enlarged section on the line Z-Z,

I 'partly in elevation, Fig. 1. Fig. 5. is lan enlarged section of thethree-way valve on the line VV-W, Fig. 1.

In the drawings A vrepresents a cylinder 'in which is disposed a piston2; which pis` ton is mounted on the lower end of a pistvon rod 3 and isadapted to be reciprocated on the cylinder A in a vertical direction bymeans of air pressure which is delivered into the cylinderA beneathpiston 2, as will be later described. A'cup leather 4 is .mounted on.the lunder side of the pistn 2 to fprevent the escape of air between thelout-erperiphery of the piston and the inner walls of the cylinder A,and is held in place on' the underside of the piston 2 by means of ametal dislgA 5, which disk passes over a threaded yextension on thelower end of the piston rod 3 and is held thereon by a nut 6. The upperend of the piston rod 3 passes through a guide'ange 7 formed on theupper 'end of the cylinder A and has a head S'formed thereon', which isadapted to bearbeneath an axle 9, or other object.

The .essence of this invention resides 'in' trunnion.

providing a vpivotallymounted tubular handle. 10 which is attached tothe lower end of the cylinder A and is. adapted to lserve the double useof a handle and a ple 15S-formed thereon; the interior of which.`

registers with the perforation 'formed in the trunnion l1 and isiadaptedto be screwed into the outer end'of a passage 14, leading to theinterior of the cylinder A, beneath the piston 2. The casing 12 isprovided wit-h a circumferential slot 15 'through which the tubularhandle l'extends; the slot 15 being of such length as to permit' of thehandle 10 being shifted from the ver:

tical position shown in dotted lines in Figa.

1 to the inclined position shown i/n full lines; the lower end of theslot 15 acting as an abutment to limit the .downward move'- ment ofthehandle 10.

Air under pressure is delivered w the outer end of the handle 10 fromany suitable source of supply through a three-way valve '16, which ismounted on the outer end of the handle `10 and forms a part thereof.

The outer end of the valve 16 is corrugated andis adapted to beremovably attached to a flexible hose 17 leading from any suitablesource of air supply. l

As the air delivered through the-.handle l10 through thecylinder Aisunder consider able pressure, means are provided for preventing leakagearound the pivotalconnec tion between the handle 10 and the cy'flinder Apreviously described. This means. consists ofthreaded caps 18 which arescrewed inthe outer end of the casing 12 and press suitable packingmaterial 19 against the outer end of therevoluble trunnion 11 to preventthe escape of air lengthwisel of the Diametrically opposed`longitudinally l tending grooves 20 are formed in the inneiv` face ofthe casing 12, and are disposed between the nipple 13 and the ends oftheslot 15,-inwhich grooves packing bars or blocks 21 extending thelength of the trunnion 1l are disposed. The blocks 21 are :faced with asuitable packing material which bears against the trunnion l1 so as toprevent the escape of air around the trunnion 11 and out the slot 15.

These blocks 21 are adapted -to be moved toward the trunnion 11 toinsure a close contact by means of bolts 22 which are threaded in thecasing 12 and bear against blocks 21 as shown in Figs. 3&4. l

In the operation of the invention, the cylinder A is so disposed thatthe head 8 on the piston 3. will be arranged beneath the axle 9 or otherbody to be raised. The tube 17 is then attached to the outer end of thethree-Way valve 16 on the handle 10 and air under pressure is admittedthereto. The valve 16 is then opened to admit of the passage of airthrough the tubular handle 10, trunnion 11, nipple 13, and passage 14,into the interior of the cylinder A beneath the piston 2. This causesthe piston 2 to move upward in the cylinder A and thereby raise the load9 supported upon the upper end or head 8 of the piston rod 3. The momentthe load is lifted the desired height the valve 16 is turned so as toshut ofi' the passage of air to the cylinder A and at-the same timeprevent the back flow of the air from the cylinder A, thus trapping theair in" the cylinder' benead. the piston 2 so as to retain the load inits lifted position. W hen it is desired to lower the load the valve 16is turned in the position shown in Fig. 5, to permit the air beneath thepiston 2 in the cylinder A to exhaust and thus permit the piston 2 totravel downward by reason of the load bearing thereon.

The purpose of the pivotal mounting of the handle 10 is to allow thelatter`to be folded against the side of the cylinder Aso that theapparatus may be packed in a small space; which is particularlydesirable Where the jack iscarried as a part of an automobile equipment,for which purpose it is especially adapte Having thusv described myinvention, what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-4 In ajack, the combination with a cylmder having a piston therein, of meansfor conducting iiuid under pressure to and from the interior of thecylinder` beneath the' piston, to cause the piston to" reciprocate, saidmeans con'iprising a hinged rigid tubular handle connected to thecylinder, and valved means on said handle for controlling the How ofHuid under pressure therethrough.

2. In a jack, the combination with a cylinder 'having a piston therein,of means Tor conducting fluid under pressure to and from the interior ofthe cylinder beneath the piston, to cause the piston to reciprocate,

.said casing through which the handle eX- said means comprising a rigidtubular handle connected to the cylinder, and valved means on saidhandle for controlling the flow of Huid under pressure therethroughhsaid handle hinged to the cylinder so as to stand either parallel withthe cylinder and occupy a minimum amount of space, or rest at an angleto the cylinder so as to enable the latter to be pushed in o'r pulledout from beneath a vehicle. y

3. In a jack, the combination With a cylinder having a piston therein,of. means for conducting fluid under pressure to and from the interiorof the cylinder beneath the piston, to cause the piston to reciprocate,said means comprising a rigid tubular handle,`atrunnion on which saidhandle is mounted, a casing inclosing said trunnion, a slot in saidcasing through which the handle extends, and a passage connecting' theinterior of the cylinder to the interior of the handle through saidcasing and said trunnion.

4. In a jack, the combination with a cylinder having a piston therein,of means for conducting fi-uid under pressure to and from the interiorof the cylinder beneath the piston, to cause the piston to reciprocate,said means comprising a rigid tubular handle, a trunnion on which saidhandle is mounted, a casing inclesing said "trunnion, a slot in tends,a. passage connectingthe interior of the cylinder to the interior of thehandle through said casing and saidtrunnipn, and

a controlling valve on said handle for regulatingvthe flow of fiuidunder pressure to and from the cylinder. i

In a jack, the combination with a cylinder, having a piston therein, ofa-tubular handle hingedly attachedl to the cylinder and adapted toassume various positions in relation thereto, said handle adapted tobeattached to a conduit leading from a source of fluid pressure toconvey the iuid pressure to the interior of the cylinder.

6. In a jack, the combination with a cylinder, having a piston therein,of a tubular handle hingedly attached to the cylinder and adapted toassume various-positions in relation thereto, said handle adapted to beattached to a conduit leading from a source of fluid pressure to conveythe iiuid pressure to the interior of the cylinder and having acontrolling valve mounted thereon.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my .hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CLARENCE Il. LETGHER.

Witnesses M. J. RANKIN, IVM. F. Jarras.

